


can you feel it the way i do?

by ceezo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: ?? idk, Alternate Universe - High School, Attempt at Humor, Bad Matchmaking, Everyone Is Gay, Gaming, Getting to Know Each Other, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kissing, M/M, Pining, Romantic Comedy, Strangers to Lovers, donghyuck is a mess, its not friends to lovers bc they barely knew each other, mark and yukhei have good intentions!!, oh and..., thats it!!! bye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-15 05:26:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17522729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceezo/pseuds/ceezo
Summary: donghyuck bets it all on the game for jeno's love.





	can you feel it the way i do?

**Author's Note:**

> hey!!!! this is my first ever fic with more than 1k words!!! woohoo! i'm v nervous ??!! but i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!!! (pls keep in mind that english isnt my first language so if theres any mistakes i'm v sorry!!)
> 
> p.s: i want u to know that i dont know a single thing about gaming so if theres any gamer out here who's reading this ,,, im deeply sorry at my lack of knowledge!! you are all amazing and valid!! 
> 
> also, title is from 'the name of the game' by abba <3

“not to be cheesy but i would die for him.” 

_“WHO?”_ yukhei and renjun ask, very loudly and in unison, looking at each other and laughing afterwards.

“that cute dude over there,” donghyuck nods his head in the direction of a table packed with guys from the game club.

“you have a crush on a gamer?” renjun asks, mock dripping from his voice.

“you have a crush on a guy who's obsessed with anime, injun, you’re not better!” yukhei says, head tilting to the side.

“shut up, xuxi, you were not supposed to talk about this!” renjun retorts angrily, slapping yukhei playfully (or not) in the arm. 

“then you shouldn’t have told me, lover boy.” yukhei says, laughing between the words. 

“anyways, who’s the dude you’d die for?” yukhei asks, attention back on donghyuck and his mysterious crush. 

“the one with the glasses and the anime t-shirt! he scrunches his nose every 5 seconds, do you think he has rhinitis? maybe we could bond over it!” donghyuck says, not in the slightest in a joking tone. 

renjun scoffs, “you are helpless, donghyuck. helpless!” he says as he gets up to put the rest of his food in the trash. 

“don’t listen to him, you’re doing great!”

“i haven’t done anything yet, xuxi.”

“you didn’t,” yukhei holds his index finger up, “but you will, my dude!”

 _“oh._ will i?”

 

“ask him out!” is the first thing donghyuck hears yukhei say as he picks up the phone.

“hello! hi! how are you, my good friend? i'm good how about you?” donghyuck says with a exaggerated huff punctuating the end of his sentence. 

“sorry, bro. love you!” 

“anyways…” donghyuck sighs, “this is not a good idea, xuxi, we've never talked before and i don't even know if he likes guys.”

“dude, i've passed through their table before and he's always talking about how this todoroki dude could _destroy_ him. i'm pretty sure he likes dudes! aaaaand is into some freaky stuff!”

“shut up!” donghyuck laughs. 

“you know his name, though?” yukhei says and donghyuck hears the sound of keyboard keys clicking from the other side of the line.

“i don't. what are you doing?”

“oh! applying for the game club. his name is jeno, by the way!” 

“why would you do that, dumbass? and how'd you find out? are you still into cosplaying as sherlock holmes again, xuxi?” donghyuck jokes.

“that was one time! let me live!” yukhei stops for a second, a few more clicking sounds can be heard then he continues, “it'd be good for you to bond with your new crush, and i can make some new friends! i’m pretty sure injun is very close from dropping us.”

“he'd never!” donghyuck says, “actually… thinking about it, he probably would.”

“i’m telling you, this tiny furious gay is gonna bail on us and start hanging with the seniors. he always had a crush on sicheng.” 

“sicheng? i knew it! that's why he went through that phase where he'd say _‘let's winwin’_ every 2 seconds?” donghyuck asks.

“ding ding ding!” yukhei jokes, “ok! just applied us both to the game club, we start friday, 5pm at the study hall room.”

“we?-- wait!” donghyuck screams on the telephone.

and the phone call ends there, of course. _dammit_ wong yukhei!

“can't believe you're making me do this.” donghyuck says walking down the hall to the game club room, “i can't even play video games you know that?”

“great! you can learn something new _and_ get a boyfriend,” yukhei says holding two fingers up in the air, “not to be renjun but this really is a win-win situation.” he giggles at his own joke.

“stop! what if he has a boyfriend already? or what if he doesn't like me or think i’m dumb because i don't know how to jump or punch something in whatever video game they play?” 

donghyuck finishes his sentence with a pout and even though yukhei knows the other guy has mastered the art of using his puppy face to get things from his friends (he's cute, what are they supposed to do?) this time he knows it's genuine.

“listen, duckie. i'm pretty sure the game club doesn't work like that! also… look at you! you're the cutest, the sweetest, the _literal_ sun,” donghyuck makes a face at that, he already explained the other boy he couldn’t possibly the _actual, literal_ sun, yukhei just never listens to him, “he’ll like you! first for your amazing personality, of course, then the looks.” yukhei ends his sentence by booping donghyuck’s nose. 

 

they enter the room and it feels ok, normal -- a little bit too quiet if donghyuck might say, but it's not _that_ much out of his comfort zone. there's a bunch of guys in front of computers with headphones on, from time to time one shouts some command that neither donghyuck or yukhei understand but they go with it, until no longer than twenty seconds after a bell rings somewhere behind their heads and they all stop whatever they were doing. 

the two boys look to where the sound came from and realize there's a guy at the entrance of the room -- probably the one in control over whatever happens in here. he looks like he knows stuff, at the same time he looks very young, even childish to be the leader, it's probably because of the glasses, donghyuck thinks.

“oh! you two are yukhei and donghyuck! you applied last week, right? my name is mark lee, nice to meet you!” he says in a jovial tone, extending his hand to both of them.

yukhei is the first to speak, “nice to meet you too, mark!” he replies while shaking the other boy’s hand, “we applied because we're curious about this whole gaming thing!” yukhei says, big smile on his face. 

mark smiles back.

from behind them, donghyuck hears a few guys whispering and sighing at yukhei and mark’s interaction, _assholes,_ he thinks.

“assholes.” someone says from the other corner of the room. he turns around and -- _oh!_ look who it is! 

“you.” donghyuck says, mind a little too foggy to form sentences.

“excuse me?” jeno says in an offended tone.

“no! not you asshole. you… _you?”_

yukhei pushes donghyuck till he's totally behind his tall frame. “sorry for my friend, he's going through some stuff.” in the back donghyuck faintly says _“no i'm not!”_ but no one in the room actually listens.

“so…?” yukhei asks, trying to change the topic of the conversation.

mark rapidly follows him, “yeah… so you're here just out of curiosity, then?” yukhei nods, “this is great! we love showing people what we do! not everyone here is as competitive and serious about gaming as you may think.” he says directing his words for the guys behind donghyuck.

“nice! we're just here to have a good time really! and maybe make some friends?” yukhei winks to mark (just regular wong yukhei behavior) which obviously results in the guy blushing furiously and trying to hide it by turning around and showing them which computers each of them are assigned to.

of course -- of course the universe would do that, donghyuck ends up sitting by jeno's side. which is both a blessing (c’mon! cute guy alert!) and a curse, since he won't have yukhei at his side to tell him what to do.

“hey!” jeno says, cheerfully, extending a hand to donghyuck, “i'm lee jeno!” 

donghyuck grabs it and for a moment it's like the world is in slow motion. his hand is so soft, what the hell! 

“i'm donghyuck. lee donghyuck! is everyone here a lee?” he says, jokingly.

and jeno laughs, i mean, it's a pretty stupid joke but still he laughs with all his front teeth showing and everything. donghyuck feels like dying from how cute he is and they haven't been there for more than 5 minutes. this is going to be one hell of a ride. 

“that's funny!” jeno remarks, looking a bit surprised.

“why are you surprised?” donghyuck asks jokingly.

“you just don't seem like the funny type, no offense though!”

 _“hm…_ i'm offended! is it just because i'm pretty?” donghyuck says, it's a joke of course. he knows he's a pretty handsome dude but he's not planning on setting jeno up like that. 

turns out jeno takes the bait, “yeah, it must be because of that.” he says, tiny smile on his face. 

donghyuck is left speechless. again.

 

he would never admit it, but he actually had fun. turns out the club is much more than teenage dudes screaming while looking at a computer screen. they seriously debated new games they’re interested in, (donghyuck had none but he said ‘flappy bird’ just to add something) whether they’d like to participate in the championship that happens at the end of each year (yukhei clapped his hands excitedly at that even though he had no idea how it works or what even is this championship thing -- mark smiled delightfully at him) and by the end of the whole meeting while waiting at the door every member (even those rude ones, mark made them do it) shook their hands and said ‘welcome’ to both of them. he feels great -- welcomed. it’s good to do different things! yukhei is always right at the end. 

and of course, there’s lee jeno. they didn’t talk much during the whole thing, donghyuck just asked a few times what each key on the computer did. _‘i’m not dumb i know the space bar is for jumping but how do i punch?’_ and whether he was doing good or not on the game. jeno was all compliments, _he’s too nice,_ donghyuck thinks when remembering the brown haired boy. 

while he’s leaving, yukhei walking ahead of him, talking to the mark guy, he feels a hand on his back. 

“hey!” it’s jeno. 

shit.

“hi. what’s up?” act normal, donghyuck.

“i wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to that new bubble tea place after the next meeting,” donghyuck holds his breath throughout the entire sentence, “you and your buddy, i mean! yukhei?” jeno asks.

“oh!” donghyuck stops for a few seconds, jeno makes a funny face, like he didn’t understand a joke or something. “yes! his name’s yukhei and... yes! we’d love to go!”

“neat! i’ll ask mark if we wants to go too!” jeno smiles, and this time it’s an even bigger smile than before, when donghyuck told him that dumb joke. his eyes are in the shape of a crescent moon -- and it looks too good to be true, like jeno’s some sort of animated figure in front of him, donghyuck would touch him to check if he’s real but he’s not a creep. 

“sure, dude. mark seems like a good guy, and it looks like he and yukhei are already friends,” he says, pointing at them outside the room, yukhei is making a funny face while mark laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever saw. they look cute. 

jeno still has the same smile on his face when he says, “ok then, see you next friday, hyuckie!” 

_hyuckie._

donghyuck would’ve asked where the hell did he took that from but he blinked and suddenly jeno wasn’t there anymore.

cool, nice… neat! 

 

“i can’t believe i’m saying this, but this is great, donghyuck!” renjun says, munching on a sandwich from the cafeteria. 

“is it, though? i feel like xuxi is cockblocking me.” donghyuck says, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand. 

yukhei gets to the table in time to hear only the last part of donghyuck’s sentence. “are you talking about your date with jeno, duckie?” he asks, dropping his backpack on the floor and sending a hand kiss to renjun, that justs waves his hand in the air in response.

“it’s not a date!” donghyuck protests, a bit too loudly, “but yes, i am.” 

“dude, it’s perfect though. imagine you completely alone with him, you’d freak out. i’m not cockblocking anything -- i’m only preventing gay panics from happening.” 

“again, can’t believe i’m saying this but xuxi’s right. you’re a mess, hyuck.” renjuns says.

donghyuck sighs, his friends are right. he is a mess when it comes to cute boys, god only knows how his first date with hwang hyunjin from chemistry class went. let’s just say eating nachos and riding on a ferris wheel afterwards isn’t the best thing to do. poor guy. 

“also…” yukhei starts, while making invisible doodles with his index finger on the table, “i can be with mark.” 

renjun chokes on his orange juice, “excuse me?”

“oh my god! you like mark! i knew it!” donghyuck says in high pitched voice. 

“no you didn’t!” yukhei makes a confused face at the statement. 

“i did though. don’t get me wrong, you’re a pretty selfless guy, xuxi, but i knew you wouldn’t sign up to a game club just to,” donghyuck makes air quotes with his hands, _“make friends.”_

“wow! and here i was taking xuxi for granted. you’re a gay genius, wong yukhei.” renjun says, making gun signs with his hands at yukhei.

“stop! swear to god this has nothing to do with me going to the game club with you, duckie -- me and mark just talked at the end of the meeting, and turns out we have a lot in common…” yukhei says, still looking down, a bit too shy for someone who’s known to be a social butterfly. 

“oh my god,” renjun says, turning his head to look at donghyuck, whose mouth is open. “xuxi’s in love!”

“i’m not! why are you guys like this? i just think he’s cute, he looks like a baby leopard.”

 _“he looks like a baby leopard,”_ donghyuck mocks in a low pitched voice, “xuxi, my mate, you have a big fat crush, that’s it.” renjun high-fives him at the end of his sentence. 

“you’re terrible, terrible friends!” yukhei says, shaking his head, but both renjun and donghyuck see the tiny smile he’s trying to hide.

“yeah, but you love us!” renjun says. 

 

friday comes quickly than donghyuck thinks -- not that he was counting the days or anything. 

this time he goes alone to the game club room, yukhei gave him an excuse that he had to help his mom at home. sounds suspicious, but yukhei's whole existence is suspicious itself, so no biggie, donghyuck thinks.

by the entrance of the classroom he sees jeno, he's just stood there, alone, like he's waiting for someone. backpack hanging from his left shoulder, brown hair covered by a snapback (god, please help poor donghyuck’s heart!) and still scrunching his nose every 5 seconds. cutie. 

jeno sees him. 

they lock eyes. jeno smiles at him.

it’s like some typical high-school romantic comedy shit. no love song started playing or flower petals fell from the ceiling, but it was still pretty cute.

“donghyuck! i was waiting for you!” jeno says, big smile on his face as usual.

“sup, jeno.” donghyuck smiles too, taking a step into the room, noticing it’s empty. “where's everyone?” he asks.

“so…” jeno starts, taking his cellphone out of his back pocket and unlocking the screen, “mark sent me this a few minutes ago.”

**markie-poo •3•:**

bro !!  
wont be able to go to the game club today  
need to help my mom w some stuff -_- 

**jenojam 🤢:**

ok dude!!  
u want me to message th group chat and tell the guys you r not coming?? 

**markie-poo •3•:**

yeh that sounds good !!  
thanks mate!!!!!!  
so sorry !!  
lov u

donghyuck looks at the screen in front of him, putting a hand on his chin, like he's plotting some evil plan. or just discovering his best-friend is lying to him. “you know what, jeno?”

jeno looks up at him, surprised. he locks his phone and puts it back in his pocket, “what?”

“i know what mark is up to!” 

“you do?”

“ok, so… xuxi,” donghyuck sees the weird face jeno makes at the name, “that's yukhei!” donghyuck explains. jeno makes an ‘ah’ sound, donghyuck continues, “xuxi texted me a few minutes ago saying he needed to help his mom at home with something!” 

jeno makes an _oh_ face, “the same excuse mark gave me!” 

“i'm sorry to tell you this but these two have a _disease.”_ donghyuck says, half laughing, half serious.

“a disease?” jeno says, confused.

“yes… lie-abetes, dude!” 

jeno snorts. donghyuck making stupid jokes in front of his crush? sounds about right! 

“and what are we going to do about it?” 

“for now, nothing. let's just see how long they can pretend they're not some love-sick puppies hiding from their friends.”

donghyuck looks at jeno and notices his eyes are twice the size they usually are. 

“you think they are,” jeno stops, whispering the next word, _“kissing?”_

“oh my god, what did you think they were doing?” donghyuck asks, laughing at jeno's innocence.

“i don't know, playing fortnite?” 

donghyuck slaps a hand against his own forehead, not quite believing the other guy. it's confirmed, donghyuck's a moronsexual 

 

they end up going to that new bubble tea place jeno mentioned. the two of them. alone. 

it's fine! it's completely fine! donghyuck's more than ok around jeno now, he even made some jokes without making a fool out of himself. he's fine. 

except he isn't. they order their teas and everything is ok! it's neat! except for the fact that -- when they aren't around their bubbly, over the top, loud friends (mark and yukhei), they're very shy boys. 

jeno is very shy, donghyuck notices, and he can't read jeno's mind but by the way he watches intently as donghyuck anxiously plucks his cuticles with his fingers, he probably thinks the same about him. 

“so… what do you like to do, lee donghyuck?” jeno asks, breaking the ice a little bit. 

“me?” donghyuck nervously laughs, looking down at his hands, _“hm…_ i like reading,” jeno smiles at that, “i play the piano too so… there's that!” 

“you do? i play the guitar!” jeno smiles even wider.

“that's nice!” he responds, “i like music, in general.”

“what type of music?” 

“everything, really -- michael jackson is my king. yukhei likes to joke he's my dad.”

“i see the resemblance!” jeno jokes, making donghyuck snort.

“i also like kpop!”

“oh! me too! i would die for twice!” jeno answers excitedly. 

“i would die for them too! oh my god!” 

of course the both of them end up singing ‘yes or yes’ at the same time while making the chorus’ choreography with their hands. 

and they get carried away with the whole thing. they're teenage boys, doing teenage boys’ stuff. and by that donghyuck means being a bit too loud in a public place while singing kpop songs. 

“this is fun.” jeno says after calming himself down from laughing at donghyuck's poor attempt at rapping dahyun's part in likey. 

“what?” donghyuck asks, a little bit flustered. 

_“this.”_ jeno says, gesturing to his surroundings with his arms.

“i think it's fun too, lee jeno. you're fun.” donghyuck surprises himself at such forwardness. 

“oh, that's the first time someone told me that!” jeno says, surprised. 

“you are, though! i think your friends are taking your sense of humour for granted, dude.” 

“you have no idea how happy you made me feel.” jeno says. smiling so big donghyuck fears his face might tear apart.

and they were joking a few seconds ago but after that sentence it all feels too real. donghyuck has no idea if jeno knows how he feels -- or even if it's mutual. he seems very oblivious at everything, but still, that made donghyuck's heart race a little bit. 

donghyuck weirdly bows, hands holding an invisible hat on top of his head. 

_dumbass._

jeno laughs, he'll laugh at absolutely everything donghyuck says or do, it's a nice boost on his ego but an even nicer pat on his heart. 

 

when donghyuck gets to the cafeteria table he usually meets his friends at lunch on monday, he notices renjun is the only one there. no sign of wong xuxi. interesting… 

“hey, jun?” donghyuck says, catching the attention of the other boy who's doodling something on his notebook, probably another rendition of moomin. 

“sup, duckie.” renjun says, winking at donghyuck.

“have you seen xuxi?” 

“yeah, i saw him this morning on his way to history class. he was with that mark guy, by the way.”

“oh my god,” donghyuck’s jaw drops, “they were together again!”

at that renjun raises his head, hand that was holding the pencil now still. “what?”

“listen, xuxi was supposed to meet me at the game club last friday, ok?” renjuns nods, “he never showed up, but here's the twist! mark never showed up either!” donghyuck ends his sentence with both his hands waving in the air, like he’s trying to make everything sink in faster in renjun's brain. 

“oh!” renjun says, jaw dropping and everything, “xuxi got a boyfriend before you!” he laughs.

“this is just rude. i thought we were talking about xuxi's love life not mine.”

“dude, yukhei's a legend!” renjun says, clapping his hands as if he's congratulating yukhei for something, “we have to find him so i can congratulate him on getting some.”

donghyuck makes a disgusted face, _“you,”_ he points at renjun, “are disgusting.”

renjun shrugs then goes back to drawing.

 

yukhei's a great guy -- donghyuck would even dare to say he's the perfect guy. very sweet with his friends, very loyal and caring, wouldn't hurt a fly. but there's one thing that yukhei can't escape, and that thing is: he doesn't know how to lie. he just sucks at it. 

so is obvious to donghyuck he's up to something when, throughout the entire weekend, yukhei kept making up excuses to not go out with him -- or even just talk. 

_‘dude, i can't! my mom wants me to help her with the laundry’_ or _‘bro sorry i couldn't answer you, i broke my charger’_ or even going as far as ‘ _dude, i can't. han solo_ (his dog) _is sick!’_

lies after lies, donghyuck thinks. yukhei is a mysterious guy, he gets that. it's good to be private with some stuff. but why would he lie so much about this whole thing with mark lee? makes no sense.

and donghyuck takes matters into his own hands,

so that's why he's standing in front of yukhei's house. 

he's not going to throw pebbles at his window like some modern romeo and juliet movie, of course (thanks, taylor swift!), xuxi's family loves him, he enters through the front door, thank you very much.

he knocks twice.

an old, very tiny and kind-looking woman opens the door -- yukhei's grandma.

“ms. wong! so nice to see you!” donghyuck greets her excitedly, “are you feeling better with the back pain?”

the woman holds donghyuck’s arm and kindly smiles at him, “hello, son. so nice to see you!” she caresses his arm, “yes, i'm feeling so much better, thank you for asking, sweetheart.”

she gestures donghyuck to follow her into the house. he's been here many times, that's why he's so acquainted with everything -- feels like his second home.

yukhei’s grandmother tells him to sit on the couch but he declines nicely, instead, he asks, “ms. wong, do you perhaps know if xuxi's home?”

“oh, son,” the woman shakes her head, “i haven't seen him since friday morning, he left in a rush, didn't spend the weekend here too. he sent his mother a...” she shakes her hand in the air, trying to remember something, donghyuck steps in, “a text?”

“yes!” she answers, smiling at him, “a text, saying he was at huang renjun's house!” 

donghyuck pretends he knows what she's talking about, “yes, renjun’s place, i know!” he nods “do you know when he's coming home?”

“yukhei told me, friday morning, before leaving to school,” the woman stops to catch her breath, “he was attending a club there, this afternoon, won't be back till after dinner.”

“i see…” donghyuck smiles at the woman, “thank you, ms. wong, for everything!”

“won't you stay a little longer for tea, darling?” the woman asks, head tilting to the side as she does so.

“oh, ms. wong, unfortunately i won't be able to! i’m going to attend this club xuxi told you about too!” 

donghyuck makes his way towards the door, “see you, ms. wong!”

“goodbye, honey!” donghyuck hears faintly in the back as he closes the door. walking towards the school, he knows where yukhei is.

 

the thing is, he doesn't want to catch his friend in flagrant or some weird voyeur thing like that. that's not the type of friend he is -- donghyuck believes jeno isn't like that too, and since mark is jeno's best friend and xuxi is his, it makes total sense texting him to ask if he wants to go too.

**jenojam 🤢:**

go where exActly ??

**the Literal sun:**

find them!!!!!!!😈

**jenojam 🤢:**

should i b scared of you?

**the Literal sun:**

no!!!!! i dont want to fight them

**jenojam 🤢:**

if you end up fighting them..  
dont worry i have yiur back

**the Literal sun:**

my hero !!!! ^___^

**jenojam 🤢:**

:~D

 

donghyuck is not planning on fighting them -- obviously. he likes yukhei way too much to do that.

also, he’s not exactly hurt by all of this, yeah, yukhei could’ve told him. they’re best friends for god’s sake! but he understands the urge of yukhei to keep things hidden, he gets it. plus, he doesn’t even know if they _really_ are going out. for all donghyuck knows they could actually just be playing ‘just dance’ and having some bro time. 

 

jeno meets donghyuck at the tiny square in front of their school, it’s getting dark since it’s past 5pm by now and they live in an humid, cold, and very haunted-looking city. so there’s no reason at _all_ for jeno to be dressed from head to toe in black. 

“why are you dressed like this?” donghyuck asks, trying not to laugh. it actually looks pretty adorable, he’s not going to lie. 

“i thought we were going to do some secret spy stuff so i came dressed as such.” jeno says, taking a flashlight out of his (also, black) backpack. 

“jeno, we’re only looking for xuxi and mark. for all we know they could literally be missing, i don’t know!” donghyuck holds both of his hands in the air, deep down he’s only trying to convince himself he’s doing the right thing. 

“you’re just trying to convince yourself you’re doing the right thing!” 

 

they enter the school through the back door to avoid getting caught by some sneaky janitor -- or just because jeno begs donghyuck to do so because apparently: _‘this school is haunted, hyuckie, i swear to god!’_

for the record, donghyuck only listens to him because he likes being called ‘hyuckie’. he doesn’t believe in ghosts. he's a grown man, please.

they walk through the halls -- most of them dark since the only club that has a meeting today is the anime club. _‘maybe we should go discuss if one-punch man could beat thanos instead of walking on these weird ass halls.’_ donghyuck remembers jeno saying. 

there's no sign of a single living soul, which, yeah, makes sense, it's 6 in the afternoon. people are home, eating dinner with their families. donghyuck and jeno _should_ be home, but this is a mission for the greater good. at least that's what donghyuck likes to think.

“we're doing a good thing being here, right?” donghyuck whispers, apparently he’s into the whole ‘secret spy’ character too.

“don't know, hyuck. i personally think we should've stayed home.” jeno answers, also whispering. 

“you only think that because you're scared!” donghyuck answers, they're very close from study hall (or, the game club room), just turning the left corner and they'll be there. _easy peasy,_ he thinks.

except that they hear a sound, and that makes both of them stop abruptly. it's barely a whisper at first, like they're just hearing the echoes of their own conversation, but then it gets louder and louder, and donghyuck can comprehend a few sentences:

 _“bro,_ it's so dark in here!”

“what? are you scared, markie-poo?”

it's yukhei.

more specifically, it's yukhei and mark.

he turns around to look at jeno, who's behind him, and he's hit with the proximity of their faces. donghyuck plays it off by laughing awkwardly and then says, “jeno, they're here. let's go!”

“dude, wasn't finding them the whole purpose of this thing?” jeno answers, face still very close from donghyuck’s.

“yeah, but now i realize how stupid we must look!” donghyuck answers, grabbing jeno by his shirt and dragging him to the nearest room. 

of course, the room they end up in it's the storeroom -- it's very fitting, for both of them giving they're in deep shit. not literally fitting though, since it's a very tiny room and they're both pressed against stacks of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. 

“great!” donghyuck says, sarcastically. he peeks through the crack of the door and sees yukhei and mark passing by, probably going to the study hall to kiss their brains out. donghyuck is not jealous, he isn't.

“can't believe i’m living my first,” jeno makes air quotes, _“overnight challenge_ at this school.” he says excitedly.

“you’re too excited for someone who's hiding in a storeroom.” donghyuck says, finally turning around and locking eyes with jeno.

jeno smiles, “it's not that bad, though.”

“it isn't?” donghyuck says, voice full of hope.

“no, i can stretch my legs and everything!” 

donghyuck sighs, so much for a guy who's absolutely oblivious. 

they spend a few more minutes in there, just to make sure nobody’s seeing them as they leave. 

not that it's a weird sight to see it's just -- they're not counting on having to explain people why they were there, you know?

as they walk towards the game club room, donghyuck feels something touch his hand.

a lost soul of a dead student, perhaps?

no.

it's jeno.

cute boy, jeno, holding his hand.

donghyuck turns his head, surprised, to listen to whatever jeno has to say, but he doesn't say anything. just keeps looking forward and walking like nothing happened.

except he's holding donghyuck's hand. this is fine.

maybe he's just scared, that's probably it! he's a scaredy cat -- donghyuck has noticed during the time he had spent here with the boy. every little noise makes him jump. it's very cute, if donghyuck might say.

or maybe... he just likes him?

donghyuck’s surprised by his own thoughts. 

maybe he's holding his hand because he likes him and that's how he shows it. maybe he only accepted this whole ‘find yukhei and mark’ thing because he likes to spend time with donghyuck. maybe yukhei and mark aren't even going out, 

_oh god._

maybe this was all planned.

donghyuck stops.

“jeno.”

jeno stops too, giving they're still holding hands. “what?”

donghyuck takes a step closer in jeno’s direction, if he had a sword he _wouldn’t_ hesitate to threaten jeno with it. please, give donghyuck a sword.

“was all of this planned?” he says, looking straight into the other boy’s eyes.

jeno tilts his head to the side like a confused puppy. donghyuck can’t be serious when he’s facing this much cuteness, goddammit. 

“what? you mean life? i personally think that, ye-” 

donghyuck interrupts him, “not life, you dumbass, i mean this whole thing,” donghyuck makes big gestures with one hand (the other one is busy holding jeno’s hand), “with xuxi and mark.”

jeno opens his eyes, “oh.” 

“yeah…” donghyuck answers him, it’s more like a consolation, a pat in the back, like: _yeah dude i found out about your master plan but honestly i’m not even that disappointed because it was a pretty good one._

“how’d you found out, though?” jeno asks, eyes on the ground, he looks like a kicked puppy now and donghyuck doesn’t like it at all.

“you’re pretty obvious, jeno. but the hand holding gave it away.” donghyuck says, looking down at their still intertwined fingers. 

“i’m sorry, hyuckie.” jeno says.

and it’s very dark around them since they’ve been on this thing now for probably one hour and so -- it’s very dark and very silent and the only thing donghyuck can hear is the regret in jeno’s voice. and he shouldn’t feel like this. yeah, he could’ve just asked donghyuck out on a date, but then the story wouldn’t be this fun and entertaining, would it?

“you shouldn’t be, i’m actually jealous i didn’t thought about this myself.” donghyuck says, smiling through his words.

“you are?” jeno asks, eyes wide and full of hope, donghyuck nods. “oh my god, i thought you were going to beat me up or something!”

“again, i’m _not_ planning on beating anyone up. why do you think so little of me, lee jeno?”

“i don’t. i think you’re wonderful.” jeno answers, this time not in a joking tone but in a very serious one. he looks down at their hands and swings them from side to side. 

“funny, i also think you’re wonderful.” donghyuck says, “and cute.” he adds, to his own surprise. 

jeno looks up and laughs. 

in a cute, bubbly way, like a teenager in love would. “i also think you’re very cute, donghyuck.” 

“nice,” donghyuck answers, big smile on his face.

he looks down at jeno’s lips then. and that’s when he realizes they’ve been in a shit ton of weird situations where jeno could’ve just kissed him but he didn’t. is it because he’s afraid of donghyuck’s rejection or he just needs encouragement?

“you can kiss me, you know.” donghyuck says, very boldly for a guy who’s known as a ‘panicked gay’ between his friends. _suck it, renjun!_

jeno eyes grow three sizes bigger than they normally are, “can i?” 

donghyuck nods.

so jeno does that, he gets closer and closer till the younger boy can feel the ghost of their lips touching -- poor metaphor, though, for two guys who are scared of the supernatural and are almost kissing in a dark hallway. 

jeno moves just enough to complete the space between them. and then they’re kissing. 

it’s softly at first, just pillowy lips trying to get used to the feeling of one another. donghyuck hasn’t been kissed a lot of times before to compare what’s happening right now to any different moment in his life, but _this_ few seconds with jeno feel like pure magic -- different from anything else in the world. 

it’s like he’s laying on top of a fluffy cloud, and said cloud is actually made out of cotton candy and there are puppies everywhere, obviously, and they are all playing vivaldi’s _‘spring’_ with tiny violins.

it’s weird -- you wouldn’t understand, you’re not being kissed by lee jeno.

but then it gets harder, hasty. like they’re both thirsty and the other’s lips are the last cup of water in the world. they don’t notice at first, but at a certain point they’re both on the ground, still holding hands, kissing each other’s face off.

it’s pretty romantic. 

but everything that’s good comes to an end, i guess, because suddenly they feel a little bit too exposed, giving the hallway lights are now on. and footsteps can be heard coming towards in their direction.

 _not the janitor, please, not the janitor,_ donghyuck thinks as he stops kissing jeno and stays there, on the ground, eyes still closed as he catches his breath. 

“sup, gays.” 

nice, not the school’s janitor. it’s yukhei.

donghyuck turns around, detaching his hand from jeno’s, which earns a sad sigh from the other guy. (cutie)

“you scared the shit out of me, yukhei!” donghyuck says, back on his feet, straightening his shirt with the palm of his hands.

“maybe if you weren’t being so sneaky you wouldn’t be so surprised.” yukhei says, barely being able to hold back laughter at donghyuck’s (still) surprised face and jeno’s messy hair. 

mark’s there too, watching it from afar, like it just hit him he caught his best friend kissing someone and actually made no effort in stopping yukhei from disturbing them. _oh, the guilt!_

“this is your fault, you know?” donghyuck says, helping jeno up by lending him a hand, jeno smiles cutely at that. 

“how is it my fault? if anything you owe me one for getting you and jeno together!” yukhei says, pointing at the two of them.

“yeah, but you scared me shitless by ghosting me the way you did this week, i thought you ran away with mark or something!”

at that, mark makes a sound. a choking one, like he just got surprised at donghyuck’s sentence. 

“we-” mark starts, shyly, “we were just playing fortnite… this whole time.”

“HA!” jeno makes a surprised sound, then points at donghyuck and laughs, holding his stomach and everything. “i told you they weren’t kissing!”

both yukhei and mark look like they just heard the most shocking news. “you thought we were kissing?” they say, _together,_ donghyuck might add. 

“yeah, you said he looked like a baby leopard and then i just figured you were… i don’t know... running away from your friends to make out and be gay!” donghyuck answers, throwing his arms in the air dramatically. 

_‘baby leopard…?’_ mark says softly and very confusedly under his breath, like he’s trying to solve a math problem. 

“anyways!” yukhei says loudly, grabbing all the three boys’ attention to himself, “let’s get out of here, shall we?” 

 

“jeno.” yukhei says, very seriously, at their lunch table. it's friday, which means they have a game club's meeting today again -- the second one he and yukhei attend since the last one was postponed for more important matters (getting jeno and donghyuck together, that is.) 

jeno looks up at the taller boy, _“hm?”_

“you know donghyuck doesn't shower?” yukhei says, barely able to hold back his laughter while looking at donghyuck's insulted face.

“well, that's a lie!” donghyuck says, grabbing jeno's attention by intertwining their fingers under the table. 

“even if he doesn't, i still like him.” jeno says, smiling at donghyuck’s embarrassed face. 

“that's because you don’t shower either!” this time mark is the one who gets in the conversation.

renjun is sat at the table too, watching all of them from afar, this time doodling a spiderman version of moomin, it is even wearing the suit and everything, with tiny webs shooting out of their paws. the only thing he adds to the chat is a very unimpressed and most-likely annoyed:

“it's a match made in hell!”

**Author's Note:**

> ahhhhh you got to the end of the fic ,,, what a ride am i right......
> 
> thank you so much for stopping by and reading this, it means a lot to me!!! if you have anything to say pls comment down below (your opinion is v much appreciated!!!) 
> 
> you can find me on twt @haechanism and on curiouscat.me/lgbtzen 
> 
> bye bye (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ


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